Fried Eggs

Method

1. prep1 min
   off heat
   crack eggs into a small cup rather than over the pan — shell fragments and broken yolks are recoverable in a cup and not in a hot skillet, and pouring from a cup keeps the white from spreading thin
2. cook1 min
   medium-low, nonstick or well-seasoned pan
   Melt the butter, swirled to coat, until it foams and the foam just begins to subside; the foam is water boiling off, and adding eggs before it quiets means they sit in water instead of fat and stick
3. fry2 min
   medium-low, undisturbed
   + eggs poured in low and close to the surface, until the white turns opaque and the edges set. Egg white sets around 145°F and yolk around 158°F — the entire dish lives in that 13-degree gap, and high heat closes it, giving rubbery bubbled white before the yolk has warmed at all
4. cook2 min
   medium-low, spooning fat over or covered
   baste the thin white around each yolk with the pan butter, or cover for 60 seconds so trapped steam sets it from above; the clear jelly ringing the yolk is albumen that has not reached 145°F yet, and it is the only part worth waiting on
5. season0.5 min
   off heat, plated
   + salt + pepper on the white, slid out with a flexible spatula. Salt on a raw yolk draws water out and leaves pale speckles where it lands, so season after the eggs are out of the pan, or season around the yolk